The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark has recently become a title many families have become familiar with thanks to Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge reading it as a bedtime story on CBeebies to mark Children's Mental Health Week.
Written by Jill Tomlinson and illustrated by Paul Howard, The Owl Who is Afraid of the Dark is a magical and reassuring tale about baby barn owl. Plop, the baby owl, is like every barn owl there ever was, except for one thing - he is afraid of the dark! But the dark is brimming with excitement and magic. As Plop ventures into the night, he meets a boy who shows him fireworks, a black cat who takes him exploring, a girl who tells him about Father Christmas, among other surprising discoveries.
Filled with gentle humour and warm and soothing illustrations, The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark has been enjoyed for decades by parents and children who want to snuggle down with a good read.
If you are looking for some book inspired play activities to do after reading your copy of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, why not try some of these early years activities:
- Think about all the animals that might come out at night and those that come out in the day. Perhaps there are some animals that come out at night that your little one hasn't heard of before that you can introduce into their vocabulary and learn about together.
- Talk about where Plop the Owl lives and other animal habitats. When you next take a trip outdoors, talk about all the different habitats and explore the textures where they live. Take a wax crayon and some paper with you and do some wax crayon rubbings whilst touching and talking about the textures.
- At bedtime, look outside and see if you can see any stars. Count how many you can see, can you see the moon? Close your eyes and listen to the sounds, do they differ to what you can hear in the day.
- For younger children set up a tuff tray or story basket based on The Owl that was Afraid of the Dark. characters Perhaps you already have some toys that can represent the black cat, Plop the owl and Father Christmas. Some sparkly sensory scarves or a sensory foil blanket can become the fireworks and your little one will love exploring some feathers like the ones you can find on Plop. Make sure that your little one is supervised at all times when exploring these types of play set ups.
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